Bobby pin reconditioner



Dec. 16, 1952 v THULIN rAL 2,621,551

- BOBBY PIN RECONDITIONER Filed June 29, 1949 INVENTORS: 1V4! KIZuli/n BY (LL21 WRe/z'cbel'l I Patented Dec. 16, 1952 UNITED STATES TENT OFFICE BOBBY PIN RECONDITIONER Ivar V. Thulin, Upper Darby, and John M. Reichert, Philadelphia, Pa.

1 Claim.

Our invention relates to a new and useful bobby pin reconditioner and has for one of its objects to provide an exceedingly simple and effective device of this character which is small, compact and relatively inexpensive.

A bobby pin is a type of hairpin in which the legs lie close together or in actual contact before the pin is used because it is the spring tension of said legs that holds a strand of hair between them. In the course of using a bobby pin the legs become separated or are stretched apart and after removal from the hair is practically useless unless the legs are reset or forced together. This cannot be done by merely pressing the legs towards each other because of the inherent resiliency of the material from which the pin is manufactured. Users of this type of pin often attempt to press the legs together by placing the pin between the teeth and biting it. Sometimes the teeth are broken and if not the practice of placing a metallic article in ones mouth is not pleasant. Therefore, one very important object of the present invention is to provide a small, inexpensive, easily operated item that may be stored in a restricted place, such as a ladys handbag, when not in use and readily used and actuated between the thumb and index finger when it is necessary or desirable to recondition a'bobby pin.

Another object of this invention is to provide a pair of jaw members, normally urged apart, to be pressed towards each other for closing an open or. partially open bobby pin.

Another object of the invention is to pivotally or hingedly connect the jaws, preferably by an integral wall;

A further object of the invention is to provide a pair of complementary or coacting jaws, one of which is provided with means to position and hold a bobby pin and the other having means functioning as a pressure plunger to transmit pressure to the loop of the bobby pin, through the jaws, from the operators fingers.

A still further object of the present invention is to stamp and form the reconditioner from a single piece of metal to include a pair of jaw members joined by an end wall, and said jaw members having sections partially severed therefrom and bent inward to provide guide lugs and a stop lug on the other jaw member, the metal being tempered or having inherent resiliency whereby said jaw members are normally urged apart.

With the above and other objects in view this invention consists of the details of construction and combination of elements hereinafter set forth .and then designated by the claim,

In order that those skilled in the art to which this invention appertains may understand how to make and use the same we will describe its construction in detail referring by numerals to the accompanying drawing forming a part hereof, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a bobby pin reconditioner in accordance with our invention and illustrating a bobby pin inserted therein.

Fig. 2 is a side or edgeview thereof.

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a similar section-on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged cross section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is a side view of the reconditioner with an impaired bobby pin inserted and ready to be acted upon.

Fig. 7 is a similar view after the operation is complete and the bobby pin has been reconditioned.

In carrying out our invention as'herein embodied I!) generally represents the reconditioner preferably, but not necessarily, produced from a single strip of spring or tempered metal so that the finished article is resilient. The reconditioner includes two complementary or coacting jaw members I I and [2 connected by a hinge'element 13 preferably in the form of anend wall which, for convenience, is curved although in case an actual hinge or pivoting structure is used said end wall might be practically at right angles to the jaw members. An perture or mouth M, of sufficient size to conveniently receive a bobby pin [5 is formed in the hinge element or end wall l3 and one end or edge of said aperture at least reaches the inner surface of the jaw member l l whereby the flat leg ofthe :bobby pin may lie flat on said inner surface of said jaw member II.

A pair of guide lugs l6 are carried by jaw member I l and project inwardly toward the opposed jaw member. These lugs, as well as others to be presently described, are preferably formed from the material of their respective jaw member .by partially severing sections of the metal therefrom and bending the same inwardly. Said lugs It are in spaced planes extending longitudinally of the jaw members, the spacing being substantially equal to the width of the aperture M or the transverse dimensions of a bobby pin so that when the reconditioning operation is being carried out the bobby pin cannot tilt or turn over onto the edges of the legs.

At any suitable distance to the rear of the lugs i6 and in direct alignment with the aperture I4 is a stop lug I! which will limit the distance the bobby pin 15 may be inserted into the instrument. The stop lug 11 may be produced the same as the others but, preferably, the faces of said stop lug are in planes crosswise of the jaw member while the faces of the guide lugs are longitudinal relative to the jaw member.

A pressure lug I8 is carried by the jawmember I2 and projects inwardly towards the opposed jaw member and said pressure lug may be formed like the others and the faces thereof are in planes crosswise of the jaw member similar to the stop lug [1. The pressure lug I8 is spaced forwardly, or towards the end wall 13, from the stop lug I! a sufficient distance to cause the pressure lug l8 to engage a leg of the bobby pin just beyond the bowed end thereof, when the jaw members are forced towards each other, to cause said bowed end to be contracted sufficiently to bring the legs of the bobby pin together.

That the jaw members may be brought fairly close together even though there might be some flexing thereof one of said jaw members, as l2, has its rear free end formed at a diverging angle and in order to strengthen the jaw members flanges l9 may be formed on the side edges thereof and said flanges preferably project inwardly.

A bobby pin generally or always includes a plain straight leg and a partially corrugated leg and the latter has a plain portion which is inclined from the bowed end of the pin to the plain straight leg while the corrugated portion parallels the balance of said straight leg. Upon using the bobby pin the legs become separated or stretched apart and the inclined portion of the partially corrugated leg may assume a position parallel with the plain straight leg. In such a condition the bobby pin is practically useless and for further satisfactory use the corrugated portion of the one leg must be returned to parallelism with the plain straight leg.

Because of the resilient material of the bobby pin it is practically, if not absolutely, impossible to force the legs together so they will remain in such position until used. With the small instrument herein described this can be done readily and easily because pressure is applied close to the bowed end to contact the latter. In actual practice, the bowed end of the bobby pin is inserted into the instrument through the aperture 14, with the plain, flat, straight leg resting on the inner surface of the jaw member I I, until said bowed end engages the stop lug IT, as shown in Fig. 6. Then the jaw members are grasped between the thumb and index finger of the hand of an operator and forced towards each other. This will cause pressure to be applied to the bobby pin by the pressure lug l8 just forward of the actual bow and contract said bow until the legs of the bobby pin engage each other and because the bow is contracted the legs of said pin will remain in contact until said pin is again used.

Of course we do not wish to be limited to the exact details of construction herein shown and described as these may be varied within the scope of the appended claim without departing from the spirit of our invention.

Having described the invention what we claim as new and useful is:

A bobby pin reconditioner comprising a pair of complementary jaw members hingedly connected atone end and consisting of a strip of resilient metal bent upon itself intermediate its ends, the bend being curved outwardly and constituting the hinge and having an aperture of a size to substantially receive a bobby pin with the edges of said bobby pin in planes parallel to the planes of the side edges of the jaw members, a stop lug projecting from the inner face of one of said jaw members crosswise thereof and spaced an appreciable distance from the hinge bend in line with the aperture, said stop lug consisting of a section of the jaw member partially severed and bent inwardly, a pair of staggered guide lugs projecting inwardly from the inner face of the same jaw member as the stop lug in staggered relation and on opposite sides of the median line of said jaw member, said guide lugs consisting of sections of the jaw member partially severed therefrom and bent inwardly and in the same planes as the side edges of the aperture, and a pressure lug projecting inwardly from the inner face of the other jaw member between the stop lug and adjacent guide lug, said pressure lug consisting of a section of said other jaw member partially severed therefrom and bent inwardly with the terminal adapted to engage a bobby pin adjacent its loop, said terminal extending crosswise of the jaw members.

IVAR V. THULIN. JOHN M. REICHERT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Martin Oct. 9, 1945 

